I wish I had not transferred to PlusNet!

[#1]

IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING TRANSFERRING TO PLUSNET - DONT!!!
I decided to leave TalkTalk due to their poor speeds and even poorer customer service.
I was recommended by a friend to switch to PlusNet - some friend!
When placing the order, I was assured that they would completely manage the transfer and that the broadband would be down 'for about half an hour'.
We are now on our 13th day without broadband!
A series of errors made by the South African based customer services, following on from an initial error by BT meant that it took 11 days from the time they told TalkTalk to disconnect our old service until the broadband service was implemented.
I got a status update on Monday finally telling me that my broadband service was now live - but lo and behold there was no broadband signal!
I was then told that no tests could be done that day on the line as it was not yet flagged on the BT system as completed and that I would have to wait until the next day.
On returning from work on Tuesday I ran PlusNet who did some basic checks with me and then said they would run some tests that would take about 2 hours to run.
These tests failed after 10 minutes - as updated on my question thread but I was assured that this would be investigated first thing this morning.
I received a phonecall at 10.00 at home today, asking me if the router was switched on, which I confirmed was the case but since then - NOTHING.
I rang again at 6 and asked to speak to the fault team to find out what happened and was told that 'the fault team don't take calls'
When I asked who I could talk to I was told 'customer services' in South Africa. Seeing as they were the people who caused all the original problems with our account, there didn't seem much point.
I am now at my wits end - I have no idea who to escalate this to to find out what is going on. Seeing as it was my decision to switch providers, I feel responsible for the fact that we now about to enter our 14th day without internet.
Can anyone advise me who I can raise this with?
I really wish I had looked at this forum before I decided to go with PlusNet!

[#2]

Hiya,
I'm sorry to see that you haven't had a great start since you joined ourselves.
I take it that the broadband light still isn't on on your router?  It's true that the faults team don't take calls - they focus on getting updates from BT and updating tickets and doing outbound calls to customers such as yourself who are having problems with their broadband connections.  Having said that, the tech team should also be able to give you an update on the current status of the fault.
A member of the Digital Care Team should be able to help you out in the morning - they're the team that actively monitor and participate in these forums.  I hope you're up and running soon!

[#3]

And there is a current problem with BT  (Not PN) see this http://usertools.plus.net/status/archive/1269432773.htm  not that it help you.  also you dont have to talk to Durban, ring 01142965188 for the Sheffield Call centre

[#4]

Thank-you guys for your responses.
Can someone from PlusNet confirm whether the issue referred to by pierre_pierre applies to my account?
If it does, I would also like to know why no-one at PlusNet was able to advise me of this.
Thanks

[#5]

I'm not convinced it is the cause.
The issue that we're aware of affects customers migrating to us using a Mac code, which I wouldn't have expected you to have done if you were moving to us from TalkTalk?

[#6]

Hi DW40,
I'm really sorry about the problems you've had so far, it's fair to say that this process should have been a lot smoother than it ended up.
Your issue has been raised as a fault, as the order is now complete, but obviously the service isn't working.
I've just escalated this back to our supplier, and we should have an update soon.

[#7]

Hi Mand
Thank you for your apology.
I am rather fed up with apologies though - I have had a lot of them over the past 2 weeks from plusnet but precious little else!
We are aout to enter our15TH day without internet services and still there is no sign of a resolution to our problem - there has been no update since about 9.30 this morning, no courtesy call to tell me what is going on, no nothing.
Is it too much to ask that someone has the courtesy to ring me on my mobile and tell me what is going on?
I feel that is issue has fallen onto a black hole and there is no-one I can talk to about this.
I am getting so angry about all this - and to think I was recommended to switch to PlusNet because I was told that the service was so good!

[#8]

Hi DW40,
I've just checked on the fault ticket and it looks like we need to get an engineer visit booked so they can come out and take a look at your line. If you could update the ticket and let us know when you're available I'll get this booked for you as soon as possible - usual dates and times are weekdays either in the morning from 8 'til 1 or the afternoon from 1 'til 6.
Hopefully this should get things sorted for you.

[#9]

Thanks for your time on the phone - the engineer's coming out this afternoon to do a lift and shift which should sort things out for you, I'll call back later on to see how it's all gone.

[#10]

BT engineer rang me on Friday and immediately worked out that there must be an error at the exchange. He went there and sorted the problem quickly and then came round to the house and checked everything was now working correctly.
He was very friendly and helpful and sorted out a number of issues for us.
Shame it took Plusnet 5 days to decide to call an engineer - if it had been done sooner, I wouldn't have got so frustrated!
Anyway at least we now have a working internet connection and can use iplayer for the first time without regular interruptions, which was the driving force behind the switch.

[#11]

Hi DW40,
I'm glad things seem to be working out for you now. Just to set an expectation it can sometimes take a few days like in your case to resolve such faults especially if engineer work is required. This is mainly as we cannot request engineer work or visits outright as our suppliers will generally want to try and resolve issues without doing so where ever possible, also some diagnostics will always be involved to ascertain what needs to be done first which can and will take a few days in most cases.

[#12]

Hi Adam
While I accept what you are saying, I do think Plusnet need to be a bit more proactive - especially when new customers are having problems.
I have now experienced 2 mistakes (admittedly both by BT) in transferring to Plusnet - one with provisioning, which took 11 days to sort out and one with the connection at the exchange, which then took a further 5 days to fix.
That is an appalingly bad start to a relationship with a new customer - especially when I was told that we would be without service for about 30 minutes in total!
We left TalkTalk because of the fact that they were swamped with the amount of new customers they had and their inability to provide an acceptable level of service - I really hope the same thing isn't happening to Plusnet now - given your recent push for new business
Anyway, for the time being I am now finally a happy customer!

[#13]

Hi DW40,
I'm sorry you feel like this was a bad start. With regards to your points about us being more proactive and also the reason you left Talk Talk, we are currently recruiting at a much faster rate than ever before and we are well under way on expanding our customer support resources to meet the increased demand. I'm glad to hear you are in a happy place with this now and hope that any future dealings you may have with support are more positive, I am sure at least the we will be able to respond to you much more quickly.